On this hot summer day, there isn’t a snowflake in sight, but there is a cart outside, selling pretzels. He buys me one, and we sit on the steps outside the courthouse, sharing it. Of course, he lets me have the bigger piece.
“So what shall we do now, Mrs. Foster?” he asks me when I finish, and I’m licking the salt off my fingers.
We didn’t make plans for a honeymoon. In fact, the plans to do this were hatched just a couple days ago. Together, we help each other embrace our spontaneous sides, and we have a lot of fun doing it. He’s not that bitter old grouch who skulks around, hating everyone in the world, anymore.
I grin at him. “I like that name a lot, but that’s not my real name, is it? Are you ever going to tell me who you really are, or do you prefer to remain an international man of mystery?”
“Some mystery.” His eyes gleam as he leans over and whispers in my ear, “Michael Abenante.”
It’s a secret only he and I know. I love that he holds other people at arm’s length, but lets me in, all the way. He lets me—and only me—touch him any way I please, and I think I’m going to use that to my full advantage tonight. And let him go as deep as he wants, into me.
I wrap my arms around him. “I think we should go home.”
His eyes gleam with mischief. “Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmm. As good as I feel now, I think I might actually be able to beat you at chess.”
“Oh, is that what’s on your mind?”
“That and…other things. Maybe. If you’re lucky.”
“I am very, very lucky,” he agrees. He pulls me close, nuzzles my neck, and whispers, “Maybe I’ll let you win.”
I giggle at the feeling of his breath on my ear, and people on the street smile at us, because we’re laughing like schoolkids and grinning from ear to ear.
Not that anything else really matters.
I love being Mrs. Foster. Dahlia Abenante. Miles’ wife. Whatever I’m called, it means I’m his and he’s mine. That’s all there is to it. I love this man with every part of my heart, in a way that I’ll probably never be able to express, in a thousand lifetimes.
And I know. I definitely just know.
Dear Readers,
Thanks so much for reading Best Man. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review. It helps other readers discover my stories, and spreading the love gives good karma too!
Truly hope you enjoyed Lia and Miles’s complex and very human story as much as I did writing it.
XOXO,
Titles by Katy Evans
MILLION DOLLAR DEVIL
MILLION DOLLAR MARRIAGE
Manhattan series:
TYCOON
MOGUL
MUSE
White House series:
MR. PRESIDENT
COMMANDER IN CHIEF
WHITE HOUSE – DUET
Manwhore series:
MANWHORE
MANWHORE +1
MS. MANWHORE
LADIES’ MAN
WOMANIZER
PLAYBOY
Real series:
REAL
MINE
ROGUE
RIPPED
LEGEND
RACER
Acknowledgments
Although writing is a personal thing and sometimes quite a lonely profession, publishing is a whole other beast, and I couldn’t do it without the help and support of my amazing team. I’m grateful to you all.
To my family, I love you!
Thank you Amy and everyone at Jane Rotrosen Agency!
Thank you to my editors, copy editors, proofers, and betas: Cyn, Kelli, Chanpreet, and Nina.
Thank you Nina and everyone at Social Butterfly PR.
Thank you Melissa,
Gel,
my fabulous audio publisher Simon & Schuster,
and my fabulous foreign publishers.
Special thanks to Sara at Okay Creations for the beautiful cover.
Thank you Julie for formatting,
to all of my bloggers for sharing and supporting my work—I value you more than words can say!
And readers—I’m truly blessed to have such an enthusiastic, cool crowd of people to share my books with. Thank you for the support. xo
About
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Katy Evans is the author of the MANWHORE, REAL, and WHITE HOUSE series. She lives with her husband, two kids, and their beloved dogs. To find out more about her and her books, visit her pages. She’d love to hear from you.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatyEvans
Twitter: @authorkatyevans
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/katy-evans
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Copyright
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent from the publisher, except in the instance of quotes for reviews.
Copyright © 2019 by Katy Evans
Cover design by Sara Hansen at Okay Creations
Interior formatting by JT Formatting
ISBN-13: 978-1-7324439-2-1
ISBN-13: (print) 978-1-7324439-3-8